Lighted compact



Nov. 9, 1965 OWEN 3,217,154

LIGHTED COMPACT Filed March 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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LIGHTED COMPACT Filed March 19, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,217,154 LIGHTED COMPACT Robert A. Owen, 6520Royalton Road, North Royalton, Ohio Filed Mar. 19, 1962, Ser. No.180,527 2 Claims. (Cl. 2406.45)

This invention relates generally to ladies compacts and moreparticularly to a compact having a built-in lighting unit forilluminating the users face.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a ladies compacthaving a built-in light for illuminating the users face which is smalland compact in size and shape to allow it to fit into a purse and whichis readily adaptable for the application of exterior ornamentation in avariety of ways.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ladies compacthaving a built-in light to illuminate the users face which isconstructed and arranged in a manner similar to that of ordinarycompacts to allow it to be easily held in the hand and used in a mannersimilar to that customary for ordinary compacts.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ladies compacthaving a built-in light which gives desirable lighting for the usersface and in which the batteries and other electrical equipment for thelight require a minimum of space to allow maximum interior space forpowder, a lipstick, and similar materials.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ladies compacthaving a built-in light having a novel construction for mounting thebatteries in which the batteries are carried as an integral part of thehinge structure between the two parts of the compact case.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a ladies compacthaving a built-in light which allows easy servicing to replace thebatteries and light bulb as they become worn out from use.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a ladies compacthaving a built-in light to illuminate the users face which is simple inconstruction and adaptable to low cost manufacture.

Additional objects and advantages of this invention will readily becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon a more complete understandingof the preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings anddescribed in the detailed description.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a ladies compact according to thepresent invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing thecompact in the opened position;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view with parts broken away of the lid of thecompact;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view through the compact;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the lid member;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the bottom case member;and

FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified embodiment of theinvention.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, the compact as shown inFIGURES 1 and 2 includes a lid or cover member 10 and a bottom or casemember 11 which are joined together along their rearward edges by ahinge structure indicated generally at 9. The lid member 10 is generallyrectangular in shape and has an arcuate upper surface 12 and side walls13. The bottom member 11 has a fiat bottom surface from which side Walls16 extend upward to meet the side Walls 13 of the cover member when thecompact is closed. Preferably preferably formed from sheet metal.

the cover and bottom members 10 and 11 are formed from thin sheet metalto give them sufiicient strength and rigidity, while permitting easyfabrication of the parts.

The case members it and 11 are held together along the front edge 14 bya suitable catch such as spring catch 22 secured to the inside of thebottom member 11 as shown in FIGURE 2. Catch 22 has a hook portion 28which engages a detent 29 formed on the inside of the cover member 10and is released to open the compact by depressing a button 30 whichprojects through a suitable opening in the side of the bottom member 11.

The hinge 9 is formed by curved projections or fingers 18 formed alongthe rearward edge of cover 16 which alternate with similar curvedprojections or fingers 19 along the rearward edge of the bottom member11. The projections 18 and 19 when interfitted define a tubular spaceinto which is fitted a tubular hinge member 21. The projections 18 onthe cover member 10 are formed to have inner diameter slightly less thanthe outer diameter of tube 21 so that the tube is clamped or grippedtight-1y by these projections and will rotate with the lid 10. Theprojections 19 on the bottom member 11 are made slightly larger indiameter so that they will rotate freely on the tube 21. Thisarrangement provides a strong and rigid hinge which includes a built-instop to limit the opening of the two members to an angle of preferablysomewhat greater than as shown in FIG- URE 2. When the cover is raisedto this position, the rearward edge 17 of the top surface 12 comes intoabutting contact with the rearward edge 20 of bottom surface 15 topositively prevent further rotation of the case members 10 and 11. Thisfeature allows the user of the compact to hold the open compact by thecover 19, so that when the cover 10 is held in a convenient position,the bottom member 11 is able to open only to a horizontal position toprevent spilling of the contents of the compact.

A bottom linear or insert member 23 is fitted Within the bottom member11 and held in place by means of detents 24 formed along the upper edgeof the bottom side walls 16, and also by a bent projection 25 along therearward edge of the bottom liner 23 which fits beneath the hingeprojections 18 and 19, as can be seen most clearly in FIGURE 4. Thebottom liner 23 is provided with a lipstick recess 27 along one side andwith a powder recess 26 at the other side. The bottom liner 23 may beformed from thin sheet metal or it may be molded from a suitableplastic. If desired, cloth or paper linings may be provided for thepowder and lipstick recesses 26 and 27.

The cover member 10 is also provided with a liner 31 Liner 31 is held inplace within the cover 10 by means of detents 32 along the cover sidewalls 13 and by means of a bent projection or edge 33 which fits beneathcurved projections 18 and 19 of the hinge structure. Liner 31 isprovided with a rectangular recess 34 in alignment with the lipstickrecess 27 in the bottom liner 23 to provide a space for a lipstickhaving a vertical extent between the arcuate surface 12 of cover 10 andthe bottom surface 15 of bottom member 11. With this arrangement, thethickness of the compact is reduced to that minimum necessary to provideadequate clearance for the lipstick held within the recess 27.

A mirror 36 is secured to the liner 31 in a position to overlie thepowder recess 26 when the compact is closed. The mirror 36 is spacedfrom lipstick recess 34 by a fiattened area 37 which carries a concavereflector recess 38 formed in the metal of the liner 31. The innersurface of the reflector recess 38 is finished with a brushed or frostedfinish to diffuse the light from the light bulb 39 which is shown asmounted in a threaded opening 41 in the lower edge of recess 38. Ofcourse, a separate lamp socket can be provided at this point to receivethe light bulb 39, and this construction would be resorted to if theliner 31 was made from a non-conductive material such as molded plastic.However, advantage may be taken of the metallic construction of liner 31so that the threaded opening 41 not only serves as a socket to holdlight bulb 39, but also as the contact for one side of the electricalcircuit. The circuit for light bulb 39 is completed by a spring contact42 (see FIGURE 4) which is mounted on a switch 44 secured to the innerside of flattened surface 37 below the reflector recess 38. Switch 44 isoperated by a switch button 4-5 which projects through a suitableopening in the face of flattened area 37 so that it may be easilydepressed by the user as she holds the compact in her hand.

The batteries 47 are carried within the tubular hinge member 21, asshown most clearly in FIGURE 3. At the one end, the tube 21 is closedoff by a button or plug 48 which is fixedly secured in the end of thetube. A battery contact Sll adapted to contact the center or positivebattery terminal is mounted between a pair of insulating wafers '2 and53 and projects beyond the inner wafer 52 to contact the batteryterminal. A wire 55 is secured to battery contact 51 between the wafers52 and 53 and extends radially outward through an opening in the tube 21and a notch 57 formed in the end one of the curved projections orfingers 18 (see FIGURE :5 The wire 55 then passes through the spacebetween the cover and its liner 31 to a terminal on the switch 44. Tocomplete the electrical circuit, a spring 59 engages the other end orcasing of the batteries 47 and makes contact directly to the tube 21 sothat the tube 21 and cover member 10 provide the ground circuit to thelight bulb 39 through the contact at the threaded opening 4-1. If liner31 is made from plastic, then a second wire will be used between thebulb and tube 21 in a manner similar to wire 55. A removable plug 60 issecured in the end of tube 21 to hold the spring 59 and batteries 47 inplace within the tube. Plug 60 may be provided with a projecting rim 61so that it may be easily pried out and removed for replacement of thebatteries. The plugs 48 and 60 have been shown as made from plastic, butthey may also be made from sheet metal and recessed completely withintube 21.

It will be seen that the compact allows space for both powder or similarmakeup and for a lipstick of standard size. The mirror 36 permits theuser to look at her face and the light bulb 39 may be turned on simplyby depressing the switch button 45. By providing the reflector recess 38or bulb 39 with a frosted surface, the light may be diffused to providea softer level of radiation. Since the light is on the same horizontallevel as the mirror 36 and since the reflector focuses the light in adirection substantially perpendicular to the mirror, this arrangementprovides direct lighting on the users face without producing shadowswhich would give a distorted appearance to the users face. The batteries47 may be obtained in very small sizes, having a diameter substantiallythe same as that of an ordinary lead pencil so that the diameter of thetubular hinge member 21 may be kept quite small. This arrangement allowsthe compact to be quite small in size and in general the principalfactor limiting the size to which the compact may be reduced is the sizeof the lipstick which must be of sufficient size to allow it to beeasily held in the hand during use. Of course, if it is not desired toprovide a recess for the lipstick, the overall length of the case may begreatly shortened and only one battery used, or one battery can bemounted in the hinge and one in the cover as hereinafter described.

The shape of the arcuate surface 12 of the cover It) not only providesspace to give the lipstick recess sufficient depth to receive a lipstickof the ordinary size, but it also allows recessed mounting of the lightbulb 39 so that the reflector recess 38 surrounding the bulb does notproject above the surface of the flattened area 37. If it is desired tomake the compact smaller in size, as is possible when the lipstickrecess is not present, the arcuate surface 12 of the cover It) can beflattened considerably, in which case the light bulb 39 will projectabove the surface of the flattened area 37. In such a case, a recess canbe provided in the surface of the bottom liner 23 to receive the lightbulb when the compact is closed.

The general arrangement of the compact is not unlike that of ordinarycompacts having a base or bottom member to receive the various materialscarried and a hinged lid carrying a mirror. Thus the user is able tooperate the compact in the usual manner since it opens to an uprightposition in a manner in which it may be easily held in the hand whileallowing easy access to the contents in the bottom member. By having thecase of the compact formed in two members joined together along a hinge,the compact may easily be decorated to give a pleasing appearance byusing a textured form of sheet metal for the members 10 and 11, oralternatively they may be covered with leather, cloth or a plasticmaterial as desired. Of course, additional ornamentation such asmedallions and the like may be attached to the exterior surfaces of thecasing members It and 11 without affecting the operation of the compact.

An alternative mounting for the batteries is shown in the embodiment ofFIGURE 7. The compact shown therein is generally arranged in the samemanner as the compact shown in FIGURES 1 through 6, except that thehinge may be made smaller in size since the batteries are not mounted inthe hinge. The compact in FIGURE 7 includes a lid 64 and bottom member65 similar to the members 10 and 11 and joined together by a hingestructure 63. The bottom member 65 has a bottom liner 66 and the lid 64likewise has a top liner 67 carrying a mirror 68 and a recessedreflector indicated at 69. The batteries indicated at 71 are held insuitable clamps 72 secured to the top liner 67 and are wired in theusual fashion to a switch for operating a light bulb in the recessedreflector 69. Since, as previously stated, the lid 64 is arched to allowsuflicient space for a lipstick, while the area for the powder cangenerally be made quite shallow, there is sufficient space between thetop liner 67 and the lid 64 for mounting the batteries 71 without thenecessity of changing the shape of lid 64 to provide additional spacefor the batteries.

While the preferred embodiments of the compact have been shown anddescribed in considerable detail, it is understood that this inventionis not limited to the particular forms, and various modifications andrearrangements as will appear to those skilled in the art may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A compact comprising a bottom case member, a cover member for saidbottom case member, hinge means joining said cover member to said bottomcase member for pivotal movement between open and closed positions, saidhinge means including a tubular hinge member, first projecting fingermeans surrounding said tubular hinge member and secured to said covermember, second projecting finger means surrounding said tubular hingemember and secured to said bottom case member, one of said finger meansbeing adapted to clamp said tubular hinge member to prevent relativerotation between said tubular hinge member and said one finger means,the other of said finger means being rotatably journaled on said tubularhinge member, said cover member providing an inner surface exposed whenthe cover member is in the open position, a mirror mounted on said innersurface, a light bulb, means mounting said light bulb on said innersurface adjacent said mirror, an electric battery mounted wtihin saidtubular hinge member, and means providing an electric circuit betweensaid light bulb and said electric battery.

2. A compact comprising a bottom case member, a

cover member for said bottom case member, hinge means joining said covermember to said bottom case member for pivotal movement between open andclosed positions, said hinge means including a tubular hinge member,first projecting finger means surrounding said tubular hinge member andsecured to said cover member, second projecting finger means surroundingsaid tubular hinge member and secured to said bottom case member, saidfirst finger means being adapted to clamp said tubular hinge member toprevent relative rotation between said tubular hinge member and saidcover member, said second finger means being rotatably journaled on saidtubular hinge member, said cover member providing an inner surfaceexposed when the cover member is in the open position, a mirror mountedon said inner surface, a light bulb, means mounting said light bulb onsaid inner surface adjacent said mirror, an electric battery mountedwithin said tubular hinge member, contact means for said electricbattery within said tubular hinge member, an opening in the wall of saidtubular hinge member adjacent said contact means, and means providing anelectric circuit between said light bulb and said electric battery, saidlast mentioned means including at least one wire passing radiallyoutward through said opening in said tubular hinge member to extendbetween said contact means and said light bulb.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS NORTON ANSHER,Primary Examiner.

20 LAWRENCE CHARLES, Examiner.

1. A COMPACT COMPRISING A BOTTOM CASE MEMBER, A COVER MEMBER FOR SAIDBOTTOM CASE MEMBER, HINGE MEANS JOINING SAID COVER MEMBER TO SAID BOTTOMCASE MEMBER FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, SAIDHINGE MEANS INCLUDING A TUBUALR HINGE MEMBER, FIRST PROJECTING FINGERMEANS SURROUNDING SAID TUBULAR HINGE MEMBER AND SECURED TO SAID COVERMEMBER, SECOND PROJECTING FINGER MEANS SURROUNDING SAID TUBULAR HINGEMEMBER AND SECURED TO SAID BOTTOM CASE MEMBER, ONE OF SAID FINGER MEANSBEING ADAPTED TO CLAMP SAID TUBULAR HINGE MEMBER TO PREVENT RELATIVEROTATION BETWEEN SAID TUBULAR HINGE MEMBER AND SAID ONE FINGER MEANS,THE OTHER OF SAID FINGER MEANS BEING ROTATABLY JOURNALED ON SAID TUBULARHINGE MEMBER, SAID COVER MEMBER PROVIDING AN INNER SURFACE EXPOSED WHENTHE COVER MEMBER IS IN THE OPEN POSITION, A MIRROR MOUNTED ON SAID INNERSURFACE, A LIGHT BULB, MEANS MOUNTING SAID LIGHT BULB ON SAID INNERSURFACE ADJACENT SAID MIRROR, AN ELECTRIC BATTERY MOUNTED WITHIN SAIDTUBULAR HINGE MEMBER, AND MEANS PROVIDING AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT BETWEENSAID LIGHT BULB AND SAID ELECTRIC BATTERY.